Research

Professional Organizations and Advisory Role

• Member of the Global Agenda Council on Advanced Manufacturing, World Economic Forum (2011-2013).
• Advisory Board Member, US Merchant Marine Academy (2013-)
• Member of the Freight Advisory Board, The Brookings Institution (2013-).
• Member of the World Conference on Transport Research Society.
• Member of the PortEconomics.eu initiative.
• Member of the International Association of Maritime Economists.
• Member of the American Association of Geographers.
• Member of the North American Transport Competitiveness Research Council.
• Member of the National Council for Geographic Education.
• Fellow of the American Geographical Society.
• Member of the Sustainable Transport in Europe and Links and Liaisons with America (STELLA) network.
• Member of the Sustainable Transportation Analysis and Research (STAR) Network.
• Fellow of the Commission on Marine Geography, International Geographical Union.

Research Themes

Maritime Shipping and Global Trade (current)

• Vertical and horizontal integration in liner shipping, terminal operations and logistics. Developments in seaport systems in light of shifting socioeconomic trends and capacity changes such as the expansion of the Panama Canal. The insertion of transshipment hubs in shipping networks.

The Governance of Intermodal Transportation Assets (current)

• Investigating public and private roles and strategies in the setting and operations of global freight distribution systems. The role of global equity firms, terminal operators and shipping companies in global supply chains. The financing of global supply chains.

Geography of Logistics and Global Production Networks (current)

• Investigating conceptual and empirical aspects behind the emerging geography of logistics and freight distribution. Particular issues involve global production networks, international / regional freight distribution, shifts in manufacturing, third-party logistics, location within complex multinational supply chains, green/reverse logistics and sustainability.

City Logistics (current)

• Issues related to the urban circulation of goods. Urban and suburban freight distribution. Urban logistics zones. Impacts of ecommerce and reverse logistics. Sustainable urban freight transport systems.

Gateways, Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution (current)

• Investigating the relationships between major transport gateways and regional / urban freight distribution. Specific aspects involve inland terminals, rail transportation, the logistics industry, distribution centers and distribution clusters (logistics zones).

The Containerization of Commodities and Cold Chain Logistics (current)

• The impacts of the containerization of the commodity sector, its niche market opportunities and its effects on global and regional container flows. The emerging market of refrigerated containers supporting food trade (perishables) is also investigated.

The Regionalization of Port Terminals (current)

• Investigating the impacts of globalization processes on transport terminals, notably maritime and rail terminals and freight distribution centers. Involves the regionalization of hinterlands, economic cycles and international trade.

Cruise Shipping (current)

• Geographical aspects of the industry, including itineraries and ports of calls. Cruise markets, seasonality and network configuration.

Tools for Spatial Analysis of Transport Systems (1999-2005)

• Investigating applied issues of online geographical education. Received several contracts to develop thematic information on the World Wide Web, notably Transport Geography and Global Economy. Applying multimedia tools in the classroom by developing multimedia lectures and online information accessible to students.

Transportation, Land Use and the Urban Environment (1998-2001)

• Environmental issues of the transport sector in view of fast urban development, economic change and the promotion of urban sustainability.

Mega-Urban Regions in East and Southeast Asia (1992-1996)

• The spatial organization of Pacific Asian urban regions in view of increasing local and regional integration to the global economy. Expanded the concepts of transportation corridors, gateways, socio-economic change and regional urbanization.

New Methodologies for Transportation / Land Use Modeling and Planning (1990-1995)

• Investigated issues and prospects of knowledge-based methods in transportation / land use modeling and planning. This included GIS, neural networks, fuzzy sets, semantic networks and decision support systems.

Affiliations

• 2011-2012, IFSTTAR (Institut français des sciences et technologies des transports, de l'aménagement et des réseaux), SPLOTT (Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports, et Travail) research unit. Visiting Professor.
• 2011, Université de Lyon 2, Laboratoire d'Economie des Transports (LET). Visiting Professor.
• 2010- PortEconomics.eu initiative, Associate member.
• 2009- Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et leur Sécurité (INRETS), Laboratoire Systemes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail (SPLOTT). Visiting Professor.
• 2007- Van Horne Institute, University of Calgary. Van Horne Researcher in Transportation and Logistics.
• 2006- Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp (ITMMA), University of Antwerp, Belgium. Visiting Faculty.
• 2005- University Transportation Research Center, Region II, City University of New York, New York, USA. Affiliated Faculty.
• 2005- Freight and Maritime Program and Management Program (FMP), Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT), Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA. Affiliated Faculty.
• 2003-2005, Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education (GCGE), Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA. Fellow (Project: online Center for Global Geography Education (CGGE))
• 1994-2002, Centre for Research on Transportation (CRT), Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, CANADA.
  • Invited Researcher, 1999-2002 (Project: Urban Transport and the Environment in China.)
  • Post Doctoral Research Fellow, 1994-1997 (Project: Maritime Transportation in a Global Economy.)
  • Research Assistant, 1989-1992.
• 1998- Centre d’Études sur l’Asie de l’Est (CETASE) / East Asian Studies Centre, Université de Montréal, Québec, CANADA. Adjunct Professor.

Peer Reviewer

• Journal of Transport Geography (International Editorial Board).
• Cahiers Scientifiques du Transport (International Editorial Board).
• Asia Pacific Viewpoint.
• Economic Geography.
• Environment and Planning A.
• Geographical Research: Journal of the Institute of Australian Geographers.
• Geographical Systems.
• Geojournal.
• Growth and Change.
• International Journal of Sustainable Transportation.
• International Journal of Transport Economics.
• International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.
• Journal of Transport and Land Use (International Editorial Board, 2007-2012).
• Journal of Urbanism.
• Journal of Urban Affairs.
• Journal of Urban Technology.
• Maritime Policy & Management.
• Networks and Spatial Economics.
• New York Transportation Journal.
• Professional Geographer.
• Regional Studies.
• Research in Transportation Business & Management.
• Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography.
• Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie (Journal of Economic and Social Geography).
• Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.
• Transport Policy.
• Transportation Research E.
• Transportation Research Record.
• Transport Reviews.
• Anonymous reviewer for many governmental and private research funding agencies as well as book editors.

Professional Activities

2011-, Inter-American Development Bank, Senior Consultant

• The benefits of logistics investments in Latin America and the Caribbean. Port characteristics and hinterland accessibility. Geographical context and facilities suitable to service national supply chains considering existing and developing transport systems. Policy recommendations in terms of infrastructure investments and the development of managerial capabilities.

2010-, CPCS Transcom, Senior Consultant

• Guidebook for Assessing Evolving International Container Chassis Supply Models. National Cooperative Freight Research Program (Project No. 43).
• Analysis of Third Party Logistics Providers (3PLs) Supply Chains. Study commissioned by Transport Canada. Influence on trade flows through Canada’s gateways and corridors. Analysis of the supply chains of 30 3PLs operating in Canada and North America.
• The planning of a logistic zone in Quebec. Part of a consulting team developing the commercial and management plan, including site selection. Involved in the analysis of freight flows, the required services of the logistic zone and the interaction with North American intermodal transport systems.

2008-2009, Government of Quebec, Ministry of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade

• The planning of a logistic zone in Quebec. Responsible for the analysis of the global trade environment, governance models of logistic clusters and the opportunity of using empty containers on backhaul trade flows.

2008-2009, Kiewit Construction Company

• Business cycles and commodity prices.

2006-, Mi-Jack Inc, Transport Consultant

• Intermodal transport issues. Market potential analysis of new intermodal technologies and operational designs, namely to improve the efficiency of freight distribution.

2003-2005, Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education (GCGE), Southwest Texas University, San Marcos, Texas, USA. Module Developer

• Co-developer with Dr. Martin Eaton (University of Ulster) of the module “The Global Economy” for the online Center for Global Geography Education (CGGE), a project designed to internationalize the teaching and learning of geography in higher education.

1997-2001, Hofstra University, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hempstead, New York, USA. Multimedia Project Director

• Direction of a major multimedia project involving a consortium of 5 universities, (Hofstra, Concordia, Montreal, Sherbrooke and Waterloo) entitled : "Transport Geography on the Web / Géographie des Transports sur le Web". Support material for undergraduate Transport Geography courses given in 5 Canadian universities. Project under contract from Industry Canada, NoteMakers: Development of World Wide Web-Based Post-Secondary Education Courses. Part of the Government of Canada initiatitve for the information highway. Value of the project: 89,000 $C. Contribution from Industry Canada: 45,000 $C. 14 students hired to work on the project.
• Joint direction, with Dr. Derek Booth (Bishop's University), for the construction of the Web site: "Geography and History of the Eastern Townships / Géographie et histoire des cantons de l’est". Project under contract from Industry Canada, Schoolnet digitized collections program. Part of the Government of Canada initiatitve for the information highway. Value of the project: 25,000 $C. Contribution from Industry Canada: 20,100 $C. 3 students hired to work on the project.

1997, Concordia University, Dept. of Geography, Montréal, Québec, CANADA. Multimedia Project Director

• Joint direction, with Dr. Brian Slack, for the construction of the Web site: "The St. Lawrence: Maritime Seaway and Economic Centre of Canada". Project under contract from Industry Canada, Schoolnet digitized collections program. Part of the Government of Canada initiatitve for the information highway. Value of the project: 29,000 $C. Contribution from Industry Canada: 25,000 $C. 3 students hired to work on the project.

1996-1997, MuniRessource, Trois-Rivières, Québec, CANADA. Transport Analyst

• Restructuring public transit in a medium-sized city.

1995-1996, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and COGECO cable company, Trois-Rivières, Québec, CANADA. Multimedia Consultant

• Conception and programming of 2 out of 12 modules of the multimedia course "PPL-1006 The Emergence of the World-System: An Introduction to Globalization".
• This 3 credits course was the first full-standing multimedia course available on the Internet. It includes 1,700 HTML files, 900 links, 400 pictures, figures and maps and 150 real-time video sequences, for a total of 2,000 megabytes of information.
• Supervision of 50 students undertaking the course.
• Project part to the Government of Quebec initiative for the development of the Information Highway.

1991, Royal Commission on Inter-Urban Transportation, Government of Canada. Transport Consultant

• The environmental impacts of inter-urban transportation in Canada.

Dr. Rodrigue's research interests mainly cover the fields of transportation and economics as they relate to logistics and global freight distribution. Area interests involve North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and East and Southeast Asia. Specific topics over which he has published extensively cover maritime transport systems and logistics, global supply chains and production networks, gateways and transport corridors. Current projects involve:

• The Governance of Intermodal Transportation Assets
• Geography of Logistics and Global Production Networks
• Gateways, Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution
• Globalization and Transport Terminals
• City Logistics
• Cruise Shipping